Not long ago the waste in industry in the United States was a subject before the public attention, because of the enterprise. of Mr. Hoover, and the matter now is brought into view again by a movement in the paper trade toward simplification of standards, The recent report of the Hoover committee to the effect that in the printing and allied industries of the United States there is an annual loss by waste of $100,000,000 affords an idea of the seriousness of the situation and demonstrates the need of accurate information in paper buying. The statement that there are more than 5,000 watermarks in bond papers alone indicates what a bewilderment faces the business man who goes out to make a selection.
Somewhat anticipating the Government and its report of waste, a resolution of the United Typothere of America, as its annual convention at St. Louis in 1920—demanding standardization of printing equipment, the reduction of watermarks, the elimination of superfluous sizes, weights and colours of paper—was a, starting point for a new order of things. Now six other organizations in the printing and allied industries have set themselves to secure standardization, in the interests of greater economies and increased production.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.